Sir, the nutritional supplement market has undergone a change in recent years. Vitamin gums with health claims are conquering the market of nutritional supplements: a gummy bear for shiny hair, a wine gum for stronger nails, bones and teeth. The global market for these vitamin sweets is estimated to increase up to US$9.3 billion in 2026.1 In stores in the UK multivitamins, beauty candies, and mommy gummies especially for pregnant woman are lying next to tablets and capsules. The producers of the new (vegan) brand Yummygums claim: 'These are real sweets but healthy!'. Yummygums has announced that they plan to introduce a new candy on the market every three months. The next one: the sleeping gummy. Sweets to sleep?!

In addition to vitamins, the vitamin gums also contain other ingredients including sugars and citric acid. We observed that actively sucking on a single piece of Yummygum dissolved it in four minutes. During this period of time, the salivary pH was continuously below 5.5, and even reached values as low as 4.1. Considering the recommended consumption of 2-4 vitamin gums per day, this will introduce a considerable risk of developing erosive tooth wear, while the sugars may increase the risk of caries. Considering the similarity with regular wine gums, it seems conceivable that children might mistake vitamin gums for candy, resulting in overconsumption. This seems quite likely as several cases have been described where children mistook chewable vitamin supplements for candy, resulting in vitamin toxicity.2

NHS guidelines indicate that most people will get all the nutrients they need by having a varied and balanced diet, and only some specific groups may need to take extra vitamin supplements. Therefore, there seems no need for vitamin gums with unsubstantiated health claims but potential risks for oral and systemic health.